Red Alert 2 is great
*Gets up and begins walking away*
*Turns round and comes back*
What, it is!
OK, seriously now, it's a great game, I'll just go over it for you!
From the moment you insert the CD, through the Intel briefing installation screen right through the moment you complete the game, RA2 really gives you the feeling that the war between the evil Soviets and the honourable Allies is real!

The learning curve for the missions is quite gentle, starting with some simple training missions right up to the final battle, you never really feel out of your depth!

Westwood Studios obviously use the philosophy 'If it ain't broken, don't fix it' and it pays off! They've brought all the good aspects from previous games through and improved upon it.

RA2 has not made the transition to 3D yet, it still keeps its isometric - Tib Sun view. But that's fine, the voxals are much more detailed. The maps have also evolved, the terrain is now much more detailed and certain maps can be described as 'idyllic'.

The Unit controls have been simplified to no great advantage, but some useful commands from RA have been lost. Units cannot be as easily arranged in formation (but this isn't important). A tool bar at the bottom has been added which gives quick access to grouping, deploying and other such features.

The basic screen layout has hardly changed from Tib Sun apart from the previously mentioned quick access bar, the only other main difference is the arrangement of the Units and Structures, instead of having one column for each, they have been split up into four different sections, this enables you to quickly build up a que of upto thirty Infantry and Vehicles simultaneously.

OK so now I've gone over the Single Player missions and basic controls and graphical changes, but there is a whole lot more!

Good old Skirmish mode returns which allows you to play upto eight computer players (map permitting) on skill levels ranging from easy -> brutal. There are special modes, some of these include:
Naval War - Only basic Vehicles and Infantry allowed, the emphasis is on ships!
Meat Grinder - Infantry are the name of the game!

Of course C&C games aren't just about Single-Billy-No-Mates mode, oh no! There's a huge online community for you to explore with Fansites containing Maps, Mods, and everything in between! The community revolves around the free online play - Westwood Online. I am somewhat disappointed with this feature. I find it full of bugs, and very slow at times, quite often the games will fail to load or the chat lobbies seem to stop functioning altogether. But if you manage to get a game started then it can be great fun.

All the aspects I've previously mentioned have been brought into Internet Play, this often makes it more fun as the AI can often seem clueless (it's extremely easy to defeat seven brutal enemies on a Naval War, as they don't attack!)